Baisley Pond Park celebrates refurbished sports courts
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Southeast Queens’ Baisley
Pond Park sports facilities received
a major $2 million makeover.
New York City Parks Commissioner
Mitchell Silver, FAICP,
joined Queens Borough
President Melinda Katz, Councilwoman
Adrienne Adams,
and administration and students
from P.S. 45Q Tuesday to
cut the ribbon on a $2 million
capital project to reconstruct
sports facilities at Baisley Pond
Park.
Through the project, basketball,
handball and tennis courts
in the park have been refreshed
with new surfacing, lights and
furnishings, drinking fountains,
as well as new seating and
tables for spectators.
“Playing sports can help kids
learn teamwork, stay healthy
and make lifelong friendships —
and every community deserves
access to high quality courts
and fields,” Silver said.
Drainage infrastructure
was also improved in the course
of the project. The sports courts
project was funded with allocations
from Katz ($1.5 million)
The southeast Queens Baisley Pond Park sports facilities project includes new basketball, tennis and
handball courts. Photo by Malcolm Pinckney/ NYC Parks
and Adams ($500,000). Construction
began in January 2019 and
completed on time in July 2019.
Referencing Baisley Pond
Park as one of the “jewels of the
borough’s park system,” Adams
said the transformation of the
sports facilities have created a
beautiful play space for the families
of Queens.
It is important to have recreational
spaces that meet the
needs of our city. I am proud
to help fund this much-needed
improvement and look forward
to residents enjoying a first-rate
park experience,” Adams said.
Katz said the park is an important
community asset that
will now have first-class recreational
spaces where people can
be physically active.
“Those who advocated for
these upgrades, including Community
Board 12, the 149th
Street Civic Association and
P.S. 45Q, should be commended
for their advocacy efforts,” Katz
said. Meanwhile, work is underway
on a separate project in
Baisley Pond Park to reconstruct
the track, convert the natural
turk to synthetic turf, and
construct an adult fitness area.
The city Parks Department is
currently in the design phase of
this track and field project.
Baisley Pond Park — created
in the 18th century when local
farmers dammed three streams
in order to power their grain
mill — borders the neighborhoods
of South Jamaica, Rochdale
and St. Albans. The 30-acre
pond and the park are named
for David Baisley, a local farmer
who owned the land in the early
19th century and operated the
mill located on the pond.
Although the park is used
mostly for recreational sports, it
remains a vital natural habitat
for many species of plant and
animal life. Besides its fabled giant
lily pads, the pond contains
red-eared sliders, snapping
turtles, musk turtles and bullfrogs.
Eight different varieties
of dragonflies and a spectacular
array of avian life thrives here
as well.
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34 TIMESLEDGER, OCT. 18-24, 2019 BT QNS.COM
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